Poster Presentations (Group II)

Communication and Collaboration – Key to Patient Safety
Thousands of preventable deaths occur yearly in the U.S. health care system due to medical errors, and communication problems are at the heart of these errors. According to a recent study*, limited English proficient patients suffered more adverse events, and more severe repercussions from these errors than English speaking patients. While many health care facilities have patient safety, risk management and health outcome goals, there needs to be more awareness of the impact of culture and language in these areas, and more inter-departmental collaboration as well as involvement of the community.
This poster focuses on examining patient safety issues, the role that communication plays and its relationship with language, culture and health literacy.  Additionally, strategies and best practices used at Grady Health System, the largest public health system in Georgia will be shared. The Department of Multicultural Affairs (DOMA) consists of 4 main areas:  The International Medical Center, Multicultural Programs, Injury Prevention and Language Interpretive Services. DOMA has developed innovative programs such as the Hispanic Health Initiative, outreach, patient education, community collaboration, and others that have shown good results in reducing health disparities.
The goal is to show the important role that communication and collaboration play in patient safety, and how multiple hospital departments can work together to reduce risks, while offering services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate. This model includes provision of qualified interpreters and training on how to use them; use of bilingual providers and staff in a multicultural clinic emphasizing education, prevention and healthy lifestyles and outreach in the community and involvement of outside organizations that deal with different minority groups including immigrants and refugees.
* Language proficiency and adverse events in US hospitals: a pilot study, Divi, Koss, Schmaltz and Loeb, The Joint Commission